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2 weeks ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Dan Heath |Evan Nesterak
Scaling three-story rope ladders up the sides of ships, memorizing every rock and current in a harbor, and narrowly avoiding catastrophic collisions with Captain Grant Livingstone, a retired harbor pilot. What do you do when your engine and anchors fail in heavy fog? And how do you dock a ship the size of the Empire State Building? Grant and his twin brother Captain George Livingstone co-authored the recent book Shiphandling, The Beautiful Game.
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2 weeks ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Evan Nesterak
Last year was the hottest on record. For the first time, the annual average global temperature pierced the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold set by the Paris Agreement a decade earlier. That threshold was established by the 195 nations that signed the agreement in 2015 in an attempt to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
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3 weeks ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Barry Schwartz |Evan Nesterak
Years of research in psychology have taught us how important it is for well-being to live in a world in which we can predict and control the things that matter. As Martin Seligman, among others, has shown, lack of predictability produces anxiety, and lack of control produces helplessness. Being able to control events in our lives means we can predict them (if you do X, Y will happen; if you flip the switch, the light will go on).
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3 weeks ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Heather Graci |Evan Nesterak
International aid looks nothing like it did six months ago. Emergency food assistance sits in abandoned warehouses. Health workers who administered life-saving treatment were there one day, gone the next. People who relied on the United States for food and medicine are weaker and sicker, and some are already dead.
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1 month ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Michael Hallsworth |Evan Nesterak
A decade is a long time in behavioral science. Since the Behavioural Insights Team was established in the U.K. government in 2010, I’ve seen new units, debates, and techniques spread across the globe at breakneck speed. The field is much broader and stronger now than it was when we began, thanks to skill, effort, and painful reckonings. So when, late last year, I turned to revisit and update the EAST framework, I felt a bit apprehensive.
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1 month ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Heather Graci |Evan Nesterak
Contraceptives are available in Sub-Saharan Africa, but maternal deaths caused by unwanted pregnancies are still rampant. Refugee agencies support those forced to flee their homes, but don’t always know where they’ll go—or what they’ll need when they get there. AI-powered tutors provide crucial support to kids struggling in under-resourced schools, but may not treat their students equally.
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1 month ago | 
behavioralscientist.org | Evan Nesterak
We are happy to announce a new online conversation series, “Frontiers,” where we’ll host live conversations with people who are pushing the boundaries of behavioral science. The series will showcase behavioral science perspectives on contemporary issues, cutting edge approaches to applying behavioral science, and conversations on the craft of behavioral science and design.
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Feb 16, 2025 | 
behavioralscientist.org | Evan Nesterak
Every day, another feature of society is poised for an AI revolution. How will AI change (big inhale) our jobs, relationships, parenting, schools, art, music, sex, war, public safety, public policy, public transport, scientific research, health care, food systems, factories, banks, insurance, retirement…? We can’t answer these questions about AI today. We don’t know where we’ll end up. But we can get a sense for where we’re headed.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
behavioralscientist.org | Evan Nesterak
Reading Oliver Burkeman feels as if someone reached into your thoughts and pulled out all the advice you’ve ever received on productivity, time-management, work-life balance, burnout, and well-being so you could get a clear look at it. With everything in the open, you’re able to see what’s useful and what’s junk. It feels like mental spring-cleaning. You can discard all that overconfident and contradictory advice you collected over the years.
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Jan 11, 2025 | 
behavioralscientist.org | Evan Nesterak
It’s that time of year again when everything becomes possible. You’re going to run that marathon, master that second language, or start playing the piano. In fact, you’ll do all three. There’s an energy this time of year, a renewed sense of momentum and hope. Unless there’s not. It’s also that time of year when the expectation of reinvention and dramatic jumps can feel more like a shackle than a springboard.
